In our days of limited inventory this spring, it is not unusual for homes to sell that are not listed in MLS. We all need to be creative to continue to prosper in challenging times. I thought of this today as I struggled speaking with customer service reps. Dealing with CSR anywhere is pretty much a PITA because you've got some guy either working in a boiler room or across the globe. Not a person who works inside the company and knows what's going on.

Turns out because I had bought two Ring Doorbells, the original (which was a piece of crap and resulted in the need to purchase an upgraded model) and the Ring Doorbell 2, which works like the original was advertised to work but doesn't. That little maneuver royally screwed up Ring.com's bookkeeping, to hear them tell it. I had changed my credit card for billing after my trial period and their system has the three-digit code on the same field line as the ZIP so the ZIP was omitted and they could not process my card.

Ring.com said they could not fix it because it meant my card would be charged, which is incorrect billing. I have no amount due. Apparently, I have no billing due because I started the second free trial, which ends around Christmas. The CSR said I needed to wait until I received a total of 4 rejected emails of futile attempts before they could straighten it out. And that could take another week or so to generate.

Seriously? Yes, their software can't handle it.

I asked for a supervisor and asked him to pull my card, enter the correct information and when the charge shows up, I will call him to remove it. That was actually the easiest solution. Believe it or not.

Elizabeth Weintraub is co-partner of Weintraub & Wallace Team of Top Producing Realtors, an author, home buying expert at The Balance, a Land Park resident, and a veteran real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown, Carmichael and East Sacramento, as well as tract homes in Elk Grove, Natomas, Roseville and Lincoln. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put our combined 80 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold. DRE License # 00697006.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice; it could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.